The Madubachi Trio Beginnings: Shigure’s Story
by ChaosAttraction
Summary: Everyone knows about the famous Madubachi Trio, but what were Shigure, Ayame, and Hatori like before the Trio was formed. this is Shigure's story of his past. Read and find out. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: The Phone Call

**The Madubachi Trio Beginnings: Shigure's Story**

I DO NOT OWN FRUITS BASKET!

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 1: The Phone Call**

It was in the evening time, and the Sohmas have just finished their dinner. Tohru and Yuki were clearing the table, and Kyo was practicing some of his hand work from his martial arts training. Shigure was scratching his chin and thinking about what he was interested in writing for his next novel; his editor was harassing him again to get more work done on his book.

"Well, Tohru, that was a lovely dinner. If you would excuse me I have to work on my novel some more."

"Oh wow", Kyo said in his usual sarcastic tone, "Another mushy romance novel? Don't you think that people get tired of that crap?"

"Oh I don't know Kyo, I mean, his books are pretty interesting.", Tohru was sounding reassuring. Shigure gave a small smirk.

"Whatever, I'm going out for a walk." So Kyo got up and left the house.

"In that case I should be working on some of my homework." ,Yuki said. "Miss Honda, would you like some help for the finals?"

"Oh, I could sure use some help, if that isn't any trouble to you."

"No, not at all." Tohru and Yuki walked upstairs leaving Shigure behind. He walked to his office and began typing on his computer. _Hmm, I wonder what I should write about. _He continued to scratch his chin

_I have no idea what to write about this time, this is sure thick writer's block I've got going on._ He began twiddling his thumbs. _I got an idea! I could ask Hari and Aya, they should have a good idea. _

So he called Hatori and Ayame at the same time. Hatori was just finished helping Kisa put a bandage on her scraped knee, and Ayame was looking through his costumes in his store. The both answered the phone.

"Hey Hari, Aya, how are you all doing?", he asked in his charming tone. "Fantastic", said Hatori in his sarcastic tone. "Fabulous", said Ayame full of energy.

"Hey guys I was hoping you could help me find some inspiration for my next novel. Any ideas?"

"Nope", both of them said. "Oh, wait", said Ayame, "Why not write a novel on one of your memories, I mean, you have lived a fascinating life!?"

"Well, I don't know about that. However, our Trio has been around a lot over the years."

"Makes you wonder about the days before our Trio was put together.", Hatori said. "Which brings up a question to my mind, what were like before we met each other Shigure?"

"That's right, you never told us _your _story 'gure.", exclaimed Ayame.

"Huh, I guess I never really _did_ tell you about my story. I guess I have time to tell it." Shigure hadn't looked back at his early childhood in years, his sheltered childhood, in that village…


	2. Chapter 2: The Boy Escapes

**Chapter 2: The Boy Escapes**

Right off the main coast of Japan, there was a small island with a tiny, isolated village. This village was very traditional, so there weren't many outside influences from the modern cities. This would explain why Shigure always wore the traditional Japanese robes and continued living in a very traditional Japanese home.

Now the children under the Sohma family curse found out very quickly that their parents were either very protective of their children, or would reject them completely. Shigure's parents were at first very protective of their son. For the first seven years of his life, Shigure was kept in total isolation from everyone around him. His parents had always kept him either inside the house, or would allow him to play in the backyard as long as he was carefully supervised. A very important thing to know about Shigure's past was that he was completely unaware he even had the curse.

Shigure had always longed to find out what life was like in the outside world. Within the walls of the small home he lived in, the small boy often dreamt about what it was like to live outside the walls he was forced to be confined in.

Frustrated at the thought of missing so much in the real outside world, Shigure decided to sneak out of his home in the middle of the night. He tiptoed as quietly as he could down the steps, slowly slid the front door open, and ran out. It was a full moon that night and the sky was crystal clear. The air was so cool and refreshing as Shigure ran down the streets of the village. This was the first time that he was able to run through the main streets of the village. He was amazed at the sight of all the homes and stores that seemed to be so nonexistent before. Even though the whole village was empty and quiet, Shigure didn't care. _I can't even imagine what this place is like with lots of people,_ he thought to himself. For the first time ever, Shigure was truly free.

For the next hour, Shigure continued to run through the main streets of the village, adrenaline had taken over his body so much that he seemed to have limitless energy. After awhile, he ran through a detour of the village. The dirt roads soon became more cobblestone like and the amount of houses on the sides of the road were more and more spread apart. The woods around him became thicker. A raven swooped down right past Shigure, which caused him to stop right in his tracks. His heart started to pound heavily and beads of sweat began to roll down his face.

After the large bird swooped down, a powerful wind began to blow across the road. The wind was so powerful that it managed to push Shigure's small body quickly down the rocky road.


	3. Chapter 3: The Secret Revealed

**Chapter 3: The Secret Reveled **

The wind blow stronger and stronger until Shigure's small body was pushed down the rural road. He was pulled down the road for a few moments until he reached the end of the alley. Then, the wind stopped, releasing Shigure.

He stumbled to the ground and looked up. He saw a small home that looked as if it was abandoned. He looked very confused and finally realized that he was lost and had no idea where he was. So, he tried to look around the house to see if there was any sign of life. One the left side of the house, he noticed a small flicker of light through the battered, screen window. He decided to walk up to the house and see what was inside. He walked up to the moss and vine-covered home and rang the small, brass bell next to the door. After a few moments of waiting with no response, he then decided to slide the door open.

He slid the door with great force because it was rotted in place. Shigure stepped inside, having no idea what he would find. "H…hello?", he asked in his high-pitched voice. He walked a few steps down the short, dark hall and noticed the flicker of light again to a room to his left in a small room.

After stepping into the room he noticed that the scene was completely different from the look of the outside of the house. The room had a clean, open-air feeling. A giant, wave of aroma from the incense filled up the young boy's nostrils. Shigure stepped on the new tatami mats that carpeted the floor. The walls were pained a soft, cream color that had nothing on them. In the center of the room there was a large, low wooden table with two royal blue cushions on either side. On the center of the table there was a large candle with a small flame on it. When he went up towards the table, Shigure saw what was under the candle. There was an old, large scroll rolled out on the table. It was a portrait that had the twelve animals of the zodiac around what looked like a large sun in the center of the portrait. The scroll was so old that the calligraphy looked almost completely faded. However, the pictures of the animals and the sun still retained their vibrant colors. Shigure's eyes widened with curiosity as his hand reached towards the bright sun. His fingers were only a couple millimeters from touching the sun until he heard a raspy, yet strangely sweet voice.

"I was worried you would never come." Shigure quickly turned around and saw an old woman. She appeared to be in her sixties, kind of short, had her silver hair put up in a tight bun, and had bright, cool gray eyes. The robes she wore were simple, but vibrant purple and gold. She gave a sweet, pleasant smile to Shigure because she noticed that his small body was shaking with fear.

"There's no need to fear me young man, I'm a friend, please, sit down."

"Sumimasen, I just wanted directions to go home, you see I'm lost. I didn't mean to come in without asking."

"Oh, no, no go on ahead, please sit down." Shigure reluctantly kneeled on one of the cushions. The old woman kneeled down herself; the sweet smile still remained on her face.

"It's so great to finally meet you Shigure."

"How do you know my name?"

"Oh, I've known you since you were born. I also know of the sign you were born of. But, we'll get to that later. Let me introduce myself first, my name is Ami Sohma, head of the Sohma family."

"Sohma, that's my family name too, are you like my grandma or something?"

"Well, sort of, but I am part of your family. Tell me, do you know much our family, do you know of our family curse?"

"Family curse?", Shigure's eyes widened with curiosity so much that they looked like they have taken over his face.

"Of course, but let me tell you about the zodiac legend." Ami then spoke about the whole story of the banquet, and the relationship between the cat and the rat.

"Oh poor kitty!", tears began to fill Shigure's eyes.

"It's alright.", Ami tried to comfort him. "Anyway, have your parents ever told you about the Chinese zodiac?" Shigure shook his head.

"Well, the zodiac was used to tell apart different years. Each year represented a different animal from the zodiac legend. You, my boy, represent the year of the dog.", she pointed to the picture of the black hound.

"The dog?"

"Yes, you are part of our family curse, you _are _that dog on the picture. You are possessed with the spirit of the dog from the zodiac."

"Oh wow, I'm a dog!" Shigure got on all-fours and began to bark.

"Yes, you are a real dog, you just haven't seen yourself yet."

"How come?"

Ami shook he head and sighed. "It's your parents, they're afraid that you would never understand yourself and you may feel ashamed. That's why they've always kept you away from the village, from the family. You have no idea what you are missing from the world around you, young Shigure. Your cousins and relatives all share the same curse as you. You are part of a vast inner circle and your parents are taking that away from you. I'm afraid that in order to see yourself as you really are and see the rest of your family you would have to leave your parents and join me, I'll show you everything in the world."

"But my parents _love_ me, I can't just run away."

"Ah, just like a dog you are very loyal, but your loyalty right now is at a cross-road, you say that you are loyal towards your parents, but did you not run away from them just a couple of hours ago!? Your loyalty lies with the entire Sohma family and with me. Your parents thought that they could shelter you from me, but they are foolish. Do you really want to be loyal towards foolish people? Come to the family Shigure and we'll show you the true meaning of freedom." She held out her wrinkly hand out to Shigure. We all love you, please join us."

He looked at her hand and pondered on the thought. _A family curse? I'm a dog? Wow, this is weird. If I leave my mom and dad, I may never see them again. But if what Ami says is true, I could be free that's all I ever wanted was to be FREE!_ He reached out towards Ami and gave her a big hug. Tears began to roll down his face. "I want to be free!"

"Your heart and loyalty are finally at the right place. Welcome to the family Shigure Sohma. Your loyalty shall be rewarded." She also gave Shigure a big hug back and squeezed him so hard that he fell unconscious.


	4. Chapter 4: The Friendship is Formed

The light from the morning dawn was shown through the shoji screens. The bright light had hit the face of young Shigure. He slowly opened up his large, onyx eyes and sat up quickly. _Was that all a dream? _He asked himself.

"Shigure, wake up it's time for breakfast!", he mother bellowed from the kitchen. Shigure got up and stretched a little. He looked down and noticed a small, simple scroll next to his futon. He unrolled the scroll and read the short message inside.

_Shigure-chan, _

_Today is the day of the annual village festival. Meet me in the fortune teller's booth at the end of the main street. Remember, your freedom is at stake. _

_Best hope to you, _

_Sohma Ami_

Shigure tucked the scroll into his robes. His mother screamed again from to kitchen. "Come on Shigure!!" He ran to the kitchen.

He noticed both of his parents sitting at the breakfast table. His father was tall, muscular with scruffy brown hair. His eyes were bight brown like fire, and also looked threatening. His mother was a shorter, frailer woman with shiny black hair; she is the one that was part of the Sohma family just without the curse. Shigure tried to eat his breakfast, but he had no appetite because his mind was so full of thoughts of his final escape. _Will I ever see my parents again? What will happen to me when I leave. Will it really be worth to see the rest of the family?_ He picked around his food with his chopsticks.

"Shigure, are you okay, you hardly touched anything", his mother asked with concern.

"I…I'm alright…. Actually, I have a question I want to ask you."

"Okay, what's up.", his father asked.

"May I go to the village festival today?", Shigure asked. His parents stared at him, both mouths agate. His father dropped his chopsticks.

"_What_ did you say?", his father hissed.

"I…I want to go to the village festival today. I'll only be gone for about an hour. Please, let me go, nothing bad will happen to me." His father broke his chopsticks in half and slammed his fist to the table, making a loud, rumbling noise.

"Absolutely NOT!" he shouted. "Shigure, we love you, we care about you, and you want to disobey us? Do you not see that we keep you here for a reason? The world is a dangerous place and you have no idea what is going on. Now, I have no idea where you got this idea about the festival, but this has got to stop."

"You don't love me" Shigure said in a soft voice.

"Of course we love you, we just want to protect you", his mother exclaimed. His father stood up and grabbed Shigure's robes. He lifted him up and bellowed "You are not allowed to leave the house and visit that damned village festival." He threw him to the ground. The small scroll fell out of his robes. Shigure felt blood running down his cheek when his face had hit the corner of the table upon landing. He got up slowly, picked up the scroll quickly; tears started running down his face.

"Like I said, you _don't _love me! You kept me safe for a very long time and tried to hide me from the family. I don't want to be with you anymore. I want to be with the rest of the Sohma family, my loyalty is now with Sohma Ami!" Again, both mouths were set agate. _How did he know about Ami?_, both his parents thought. Shigure's mother tried to come forward and comfort the boy, but, without thinking, his father charged right up to him, nearly tackling him to his feet.

Luckily, Shigure's small body was able to slip between the tall man's knees, and ran straight out the door. To say the least, that was the last time that Shigure had ever seen or spoken to his parents.

Shigure ran down to the main street of the village, where the festival was being held. Now, the scene was very different from the night the small boy snuck out of his home. Instead of the street looking empty, abandoned and grave, the whole street was bright, cheery and full of people. Everyone from the village gathered in the main street to take part in the festivities. All the stands that were once abandoned were filled with merchants that were selling all sorts of things such as rugs, vases, homemade jewelry, and colorful robes. Bright, paper lanterns were hung all around. Kites in all sorts of shapes and sizes were being flown high into the sky. There were even cheerful little monkeys dancing to the beating drums and woodpipes performed by their owners.

All this new stuff was getting to young Shigure. He began to feel claustrophobic as the people around him began to seemingly get closer and closer to him. With all this excitement, Shigure almost forgot about why he went to the festival in the first place. He started darting down the street, evading all the taller giants around him. _I'm going to make it, just a little bit more to go. _He thought to himself. _This is the end of my old life, I'm going to be free, free, FREE!!_ He didn't pay attention as he ran into a little girl about the same age and size as he was.

As soon as he ran into that little girl, a large puff of gray smoke began to erupt all over the place. Several villagers ran to the scene to see what was going on. The small girl got up to her feet and looked down at the empty robes that were lying at her feet. Then, a small, black puppy popped its little head out of the robes.

"What, what happened?", the small puppy asked. The little girl screamed, "Aaaaaaaaaah, the puppy talked!" she ran away, leaving the rest of the villagers chasing poor Shigure down the street. _What's going on, have I shrunk?_ Shigure quickly asked himself as he was being chased down the street. He finally though fast and hid into one of the vases at one of the vender stands. After the coast was clear, when the villagers finally gave up on the search, the small puppy gave a great sigh of relief and continued his reach for the fortune teller's stand.

A few moments later, Shigure managed to reach the end of the main street. The whole dead end was empty with nothing but one stand on the far right-hand side. The stand looked very temporary, as it was just seemingly held together by just loose boards. Dark, thick, dirty drapes served as the canopy. And on the top of the stand stood another loose board with the simple characters saying _Fortunes Told Here_

Shigure walked his four-legs through the first layer of drapes, he struggled a little. He walked through multiple layers of dirty drapes; while gasping for air as the thick dust began to enter his lungs. He knew that he had finally reached his destination when he saw a small table with a blue crystal sitting on top of it. There were two, goldenrod cushions on either sides of the table. Many candles were lit up all over the place. "Ah, you're here, I was beginning to worry about you.", familiar voice said.

The puppy looked up and saw Ami. She looked as sweet as she always have been but she looked more sickly, as if she was going to die on the spot. "I see you finally see yourself as the dog.", she held out a small mirror for Shigure to see. He gave a high-pitch squeal. _That's me, I'm the dog._ He said to himself.

"Well, you certainly have made a mess around the village. I'm going to have to have their memories erased. Shigure, you have to real careful about transforming around people who aren't part of the family, people could get hurt." She pulls out some robes from a nearby trunk and threw them to Shigure. "Here, put these on, when you turn back into human form I don't want to see you naked!" And, sure enough as soon as the puppy slipped the robes back on, he turned back into human form, with the small boy kneeling to Ami's feet.

"I'm sorry.", he exclaimed.

"You're forgiven this time, but be sure that something like this never happens again. Now, are you ready to go?" Shigure nodded his head. "Well, let's get a move on." She grabbed Shigure and left the back of the stand, where a taxi was waiting for them, of course this was also the first time that Shigure had ever seen a car, or have ridden one for that matter. After about an hour of ridding in the taxi, they went to the island's tiny airport, where they have begun their flight to the Mainland.

During the fairly short flight, Ami began to explain the rules of the curse and how a person could transform into their animal and back. She also explained some of the family and main house rules. She also explained that the most important thing to do is to keep all matters regarding the family a complete secret, or there would be major consequences. During the last five minutes of their flight, Ami said something to Shigure that he would never forget.

"Shigure, I have one last thing to tell you, and you must keep this a secret from everybody, am I clear?" Shigure nodded. "I'm afraid that I won't be around very long. It's my time to go. However, I will be reborn later on in your life. All I ask is that you take care of my reincarnation. Would you watch over her Shigure?"

"Um, okay." Ami gave a faint smile. They reached a much larger airport in Nagoya, where they have once again been riding a taxi towards their final destination. The whole taxi ride was completely silent, Ami was just constantly look out the window. Shigure looked out the window the opposite side of her.

About an hour and a half later, they have finally reached the Main House. Ami and Shigure were greeted by two servants bowing. Ami spoke to one of the servants for a few moments. The servant then opened the gates of the House and began to guide Shigure. Shigure quickly turned his head around to say thank-you and good-bye to Ami, but found that both Ami and the taxi were gone, he never saw Ami again.

Shigure was guided by the servants and was given a quick tour of the land. _This place looks like a village in itself_. Shigure thought to himself in amazement. He was brought into one of the smaller houses where he was given new robes, books, paper, and a nice meal.

The next morning, Shigure woke up early and began to do some exploring of his own. After about an hour of intense exploring, Shigure finally found a large courtyard where he could relax. He saw a small pond with some koi fish in it. He looked down at the fish and slowly moved his finger toward one of the fish when he heard a soft, yet kind of serious voice.

"So, you're the new kid we heard about, the sign of the dog." Shigure quickly turned his head around and saw two young boys his age staring at him. One of them had sleek, black hair, like him, but had somewhat of a blank face on him. The other boy had long, gray hair with huge eyes and was wearing a puffy white shirt. "So, what's your name anyway.", the black-haired boy asked.

"Sh…Shigure.", the boy stuttered, he had never spoken to anyone his age before.

"'gure-kun?", exclaimed cheerfully by the little boy in the puffy white shirt. He gave Shigure a great big hug.

"I'm Sohma Hatori, sign of the dragon.", said he black-haired boy. "And this is Shoma Ayame, sign of the snake." Ayame was bouncing around in excitement. "A pleasure to finally meet you.", Ayame said.

"Hari, Aya?", asked Shigure.

"Eh, close enough.", Hatori and Ayame said.

To say the least, from that point on, the rest was literally history. The three boys have started elementary school together. They were so inseparable that the other members of the Sohma family began to call them the Madubachi Trio. Now, the reason why shigure became a writer was because of some inspiration from Ayame. He told him that his words could one day make great books, thus a novelist was born. As the years went on, the Trio remained good friends through school and as adults.

There really isn't a particular reason why they became friends from the start, perhaps it was fate that brought them together. Or maybe they found each other by chance. Or maybe it would be a little of both. Shigure had thought about this as soon as he hung up the phone to his good friends. He started typing on his computer, po3ndering on his reminiscence.

THE END


End file.
